Why Does External IT Support Beat an In-House Team?

As a business owner, you need your IT systems to be functioning as well as possible. That means either employing onsite support, or seeking an external provider. There are benefits to each, but external support is clearly the future.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of In-House Support

When you have your own team of people to work with, you essentially maintain complete control. You’ll have the attention of your team whenever you want it, and will be able to prioritize workloads at the drop of a hat. You’ll be able to pick candidates based on the exact skillsets which your company requires, and then mould those skills by managing each staff member’s ongoing training.

Unfortunately, control means responsibility. You’ll need to pay for each person you employ, with even a starting salary for one staff member easily exceeding the cost of external support many times over. Experience and qualifications will usually be paid for out of your own pocket, and, while it will make staff members more knowledgeable, it will also make them more expensive. There’s also the initial cost and ongoing expenses involved in making the space and finding the equipment for more people to work on your premises.

The benefits are extremely compelling. You’ll be able to take advantage of IT professionals with a vast range of capabilities. If your business suddenly needs a new set of skills, you won’t need to look for a new employee. An external team will always have the right person for the job, and will likely be more attuned to IT developments and tricks of the trade. Their services are also scalable, meaning that you won’t be paying for what you don’t need.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, external support is simply the way in which the industry is heading. File sharing and cloud computing have made in-house IT support seem rather outdated, with even larger businesses dramatically downsizing.